This specification relates to resource allocation in a distributed system for data storage and access.
Distributed network-based data storage, for example accessible over the Internet, has various applications. One application is video storage and access.
During the past decade, online video streaming has gained increasing popularity among Internet users as high speed Internet service is now readily available for households. For example, while traditional video delivery systems (e.g., cable television systems) may no longer satisfy customers' growing demand for convenient access and instant delivery, movie consumers may soon turn to online video stores that can provide such service.
However, providing reliable download services to consumers on a large scale at an affordable cost presents many challenges. For example, configuring a network-based video storage and delivery system may encounter dynamic distributed real-time resource allocation issues that can be characterized as an NP complete problem. Conventional approaches for solving NP complete problems attempt to restrict the problem in some manners to conduct an exhaustive search for a deterministic solution. These procedures are often computationally expensive, yet may still produce undesirable results.